MILA-Learn, a serious game to train rhythmic abilities in children with dyslexia: game description and exploratory studies (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Promising results showed that rhythm-based interventions can improve cognitive functions, and consistent evidence suggest that it is an efficient tool to train reading skills in dyslexia. Regarding reading, rhythm perception and production are related to phonological awareness and reading performance. Rhythmic deficits have been reported in dyslexia, supporting the idea that poor predictive temporal perception contributes to reading impairments. This paper describes a rhythmic training protocol for dyslexic children provided by a serious game called MILA-Learn. This approach through serious games is intended to make the training (i) remotely accessible, (ii) consistently reproducible and (iii) follow an educative agenda. Here, we describe the methodology used to design MILA-Learn and test its usability. We also report two exploratory/feasibility studies conducted during the French COVID-19 lockdowns. The first study included 2500 children who used a version of MILA-Learn available for download. Analyses were conducted on a subsample of 525 children who spontaneously played at least 15 games (median=42 games). Benefiting from their feedback, we improved MILA-Learn to enhance motivation and learning by adding specific features including customization, storylines, humour, and increasing difficulty. The second study (similar to study 1 with 3337 children who downloaded MILA-Learn) evaluated the enhanced version of MILA-Learn in 98 children for whom the clinical diagnosis was available. Linear mixed models showed that performance increased over time. That scores were better for children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia; and that performance improved significantly faster for children with ADHD and slower for children with dyslexia. Given the encouraging results, future work will focus on the clinical evaluation of MILA-Learn through a large double-blind randomized controlled trial comparing MILA-Learn and a placebo game.